In My Humble Opinion: Is Hollywood really to blame for the violence in our world; I don’t think so. A recent article in Entertainment Weekly discussed the violence/prominence of guns in modern-day movies, television, and video games and how the violence depicted in those entertainment vehicles could have a link to the violence that is occurring in our country. The issue has become such a hot topic that President Obama recently asked Congress to approve a $10 million dollar study be conducted on whether the violence in entertainment has any type of link to the violence that occurs in real life. Personally, I don’t buy it and am against any type of censorship when it comes to entertainment; whether it be the censorship of the three forms I mentioned above or other creative outlets such as books, poetry, or music…I mean, imagine a world if Elvis and other early Rock n Rollers weren’t allowed to perform the music they wanted to. Blaming Hollywood sounds like a cop-out to me. Has Hollywood had that much of a negative impact on our society? Or, have we grown so accustomed to assigning the blame to something or someone other than ourselves that pointing our finger at Hollywood is growing more and more acceptable? I grew up watching movies as a kid, and to be completely honest I watched some movies that had in them some things that perhaps I shouldn’t have seen at such a young age. Case in point: I was 9 years old when my dad took me to see Terminator 2: Judgment Day. That being said, I’ve grown up to be a self-conscious, responsible adult that can differentiate between Hollywood glamour and real life horror. I think that’s the big problem in today’s world; children don’t have a solid moral compass when it comes to their day-to-day life. Isn’t it parents’ responsibility to filter what their children are exposed to, I know I make conscience decisions about what my children will watch, what games they will play, etc.? Like I said earlier; I for one don’t completely accept that there is any type of connection between the violent acts depicted in entertainment and those carried out in real life anyway. Did Mark David Chapman kill John Lennon because of Catcher in the Rye? No Way!! He was/is a crazy f*ck that used the novel as an excuse to commit his crime. Now please, don’t get me wrong, I completely appreciate wanting someone to blame if you’ve been affected by an act of violence or lost a loved one because of someone else’s heinous act. The problem is we’ve become a society that instead of admitting that someone who has just gone on a shooting rampage obviously has something mentally wrong with him/her, we look for a scapegoat and say that the individual was perhaps “brainwashed” by a movie or television show he/she watched.

All released before 1990 and all depict acts of violence and/or terrorism

Bonnie and Clyde – 1967 Nighthawks – 1981

The Deer Hunter – 1978 Dirty Harry – 1971

Apocalypse Now – 1979 Lethal Weapon – 1987

The Godfather – 1972 Texas Chainsaw Massacre – 1974

First Blood – 1982 Die Hard – 1988

Robocop – 1987 Predator – 1987

Halloween – 1978 Airport – 1970

Terminator – 1984 Escape from New York – 1981

Platoon – 1986 Friday the 13th – 1980

Full Metal Jacket – 1987 The Road Warrior – 1981

The Untouchables – 1987 Commando – 1985

Delta Force – 1986

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